The Government has underlined its commitment to the pupil premium in the Spending Review for 2015/16.
- What is the premium?
The pupil premium provides schools with an extra £900 for each disadvantaged pupil, usually those on free school meals.
Schools are expected to use the premium to raise pupils' attainment. Schools have done this in different ways, including one-to-one or one-to-two tutoring, homework clubs and literacy interventions.
- Does it work?
Ofsted has found that effective use of the premium can help to narrow the gap between low-income households and affluent families. Schools that ringfence and target the funding see improvements in attainment.
However, Ofsted has also found that a minority of schools are not spending the money effectively. Typically, these schools do not have clear audit trails for how the money is spent and its impact. Ofsted has also criticised schools with a blanket policy of spending the premium on employing teaching assistants without focusing their work on raising pupils' attainment.
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